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Darknet markets, also known as cryptomarkets, are online marketplaces that operate on the dark web. These markets are used for the sale and purchase of illegal goods and services, including drugs, weapons, and stolen data. In recent years, darknet markets have become increasingly popular, with new markets emerging and existing markets evolving to meet the demands of their users.

The rise of social media for ‘low-level’ drug transactions suggests that darknet drug markets will continue to adapt their response, focusing on wholesale drug distributors, rather than the end consumer. At the same time, darknet markets remain highly “resilient” as well as “viable and widespread despite turnover due to takedowns, shutdowns and exits,” Flashpoint’s Gray said. Russia’s where can i buy lsd invasion of Ukraine, which escalated to a war of conquest in February 2022, has also had an impact on darknet markets. “The war has widened the splits in the cybercrime underground,” Ian Gray, director of analysis and research at Flashpoint, told Information Security Media Group. After major players get disrupted by law enforcement, fresh alternatives typically debut quickly.

In the wake of recent headlines announcing actions against Hydra Marketplace by the U.S. and German governments, darknet markets have made an ironic entrance into the spotlight. Even before the German police shut down CyberBunker, they had glimpsed inside its blue book. Xennt did not come to the door, but one of his managers spoke to the officers and showed them to the server bank. Sellers who deliver the goods as promised receive higher ratings and are rewarded with a better reputation over time. Darknet markets provide resources for sellers and buyers on how to get the products through the mail, including what supplies are needed to disguise shipments and techniques to foil detection.

In June, OMG suffered a distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack, which likely caused vendors and customers to migrate to Mega Darknet Market and Blacksprut Market around that time. Similarly, Blacksprut was hacked in late November, which coincides with its decline from its peak revenue dark web pages share of 68.5% a few weeks prior. Given the illicit nature of darknet markets, it’s unsurprising that vendors and users would seek to leave a market that has suffered a data breach. Since 2017, these federal partners have focused on darknet drug vendors and cryptocurrency-enabled crimes.

Following the demise of Hydra Market in 2022, dozens of new darknet markets emerged – a number of these being darknet drug markets which targeted former Hydra customers and vendors. People have been organizing illicit trades via the Internet since the 1970s. Those early examples, though, were through closed networks and the actual exchanges of money and goods generally had to take place in person. With the advent of crypto-currencies, it became not only possible to complete trades online without leaving a money trail but easy.

New Darknet Markets Emerge

One of the most significant developments in the darknet market scene is the emergence of new markets. In the past year alone, several new markets have launched, including White House Market, Dark0de Reborn, and Cannazon. These markets offer a wide range of goods and services, from drugs and weapons to counterfeit items and digital goods.

With more intense pressure from law enforcement, being extorted by other threat actors, and changes in personal circumstances, it’s clear that many dark web market admins and owners feel the risks are too great. It seems the older the market, the more likely these factors account for its closure. Hydra Market, whose users were primarily in Russian-speaking countries, last year accounted for what is estimated to have been 80% of all darknet market-related cryptocurrency transactions, according to the Justice Department.

As of this publishing, Mega currently appears to be the biggest of the five Russian language DNMs. Mega received nearly $40 million in March 2023, followed by Blacksprut with around $20 million. Almost a year after Hydra’s takedown, five markets—Mega, Blacksprut, Solaris, Kraken and OMG! Market—have emerged as the biggest how to get on the dark web players based on the volume of offers and the number of sellers. Both Blacksprut and Mega have also sent funds to deposit addresses on this exchange used previously by Hydra, but none as much as OMG. We can see this on the chart below, which shows the total amount sent by each market to shared deposit addresses.

White House Market

• “When you have a site like AlphaBay going down, it puts a lot of stress on the other players. It’s stress-testing their infrastructures.”
• A fortnight earlier one of OMG’s main competitors, Kraken, parked a bus painted with its logo across two lanes of the Russian capital’s Novy Arbat thoroughfare, blocking traffic for over an hour before the authorities were able to remove it.
• Of that $100 million, OFAC connected $6 million to the “Russian RaaS gang Conti” and $2.6 million to Hydra.

White House Market is a darknet market that specializes in the sale of drugs. The market is unique in that it only accepts Monero as a form of payment, making it one of the few markets that does not accept Bitcoin. White House Market also has a strong focus on security, with two-factor authentication and a secure escrow system.

Dark0de Reborn

Dark0de Reborn is a darknet market that offers a wide range of goods and services, including drugs, weapons, and stolen data. The market is unique in that it has a built-in forum, where users can discuss various topics and share information. Dark0de Reborn also has a strong focus on security, with two-factor authentication and a secure escrow system.

Cannazon

Cannazon is a darknet market that specializes in the sale of cannabis and related products. The market is unique in that it has a strong focus on customer service, with a dedicated support team and a user-friendly interface. Cannazon also has a secure escrow system and accepts a variety of cryptocurrencies as payment.